About

Education Agents play a significant role in counselling and referring students to Australian education providers. This is an important component of the quality assurance of Australia’s international education industry. Therefore supporting agents by providing training and professional development is a high priority.

In 2003 Australian Education International (AEI) commenced work to completely rebuild their previous training course called the ‘Aussie Education Specialist’ with the objective of updating and professionalising the training of their education agents. An Agents Training Steering Committee was set up with membership from the Australian international education industry. Members were asked to assist AEI by providing direction in relation to content and development of the course.

PIER worked with AEI and other peak bodies in developing the EATC: a standardised, on-line training course launched by the Minister for Education, Hon. Julie Bishop in 2005. Since that time, the EATC has become a key element in Australia's broader education agency engagement strategy. It is industry-recommended and provided as a professional development tool for counsellors to learn more about the regulations governing international education in Australia.

The 2009 Australian Senate Committee Report into the Welfare of International Students recommended that "education providers deal exclusively with education agents who have successfully completed an appropriate course, such as the EATC."

The purpose of the course is to:

Provide education agents with information about the Australian education system and Australia as a study destination, education quality assurance issues and the Australian visa regulation system;

Keep agents abreast of changes and developments in international education services; and

Encourage and support excellence in business service delivery, study and career pathways, and professional development.

NOTE: The EATC will not provide its clients with information about how to set up or operate an Education Agency in Australia or overseas. Individuals need to contact the relevant authorities in their country for requirements and procedures regarding this.

The course will cover four areas:

Australia, the AQF and Career Trends (AQF)

Legislation and Regulations (REG)

Working Effectively in International Education (WEF)

Professional Standards and Ethics (ETH)

The EATC is delivered online via this website which contains readings, links to related resources, self-assessment tasks (often in the form of case studies), and self-paced tutorial exercises including self-monitoring multiple choice questions. Please note that PIER does not provide hard copies of the EATC learning material; the course material is entirely online.

Who can benefit from this course?

Practicing agents: the EATC provides up-to-date information about international education in Australia

New staff members at agencies; the EATC is an excellent training tool for new counsellors

Individuals wishing to enter the international education industry as agents (with or without previous experience)

Education industry professionals

Pre-requisites:

There are no qualifications or specific language requirements for the EATC, however a minimum IELTS score of 5.0 is advisable for English as a Second Language learners.

Agents can access and use the training material at no cost as many times as they wish. The EATC is delivered online and is continuously available. For access, please register for the EATC (registration is free of charge).

Please note that the Education Agent Training Course has been developed for the training of education agents. Because of the specialised nature of the course material, the Qualified Education Agent Counsellor (QEAC) Certification Exam, which is the exam associated with the course, is only available to practicing education agents, new staff of agencies, or those who are entering the industry as an education agent. The QEAC Certification Exam is only available to those who are looking to certify as Qualified Education Agent Counsellors (QEACs). Certification is at a cost. See the other pages on our website dedicated to the QEAC Certification Exam and QEAC Certification Procedure for more information.